If It’s Another Rebuild, Mets Have To Sell High on deGrom

Last week, after getting absolutely crushed in a four game series against the Dodgers, Buster Olney tweeted that the Mets would be entering the seller’s market and were open for business. OK, that makes sense. The team has been decimated by injuries all season and things don’t look to be taking much of a turn anytime soon. If you can get back a few pieces for some players on the last year of their contracts, then go out and get what you can.

Then came a report out of nowhere that I don’t think anybody had expected to hear: the Astros had called asking about the availability of Jacob deGrom.

Now, I love Jacob deGrom. Since his call-up to the big club in 2014, he’s been the most consistent starter on the staff and has always upped his game in big situations. I’m not looking to just give away Jacob deGrom.

Besides being terrific, deGrom also has three years of team control before becoming a free agent after the 2020 season which, for a team that is perpetually stuck in financial flux, is incredibly valuable.

You would think – in a perfect world – a player such as Jake would be a Met for life. We’d all like that. Unfortunately, what has become a snakebit season leading into an offseason full of question marks has to make you at least consider the potential of moving him.

Think about it: it’s a very real possibility that next season’s roster will no longer feature ALL of Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jose Reyes, Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed and Fernando Salas while also needing to fill holes at third-base because David Wright cannot be counted on to contribute anything anymore and at catcher because Travis d’Arnaud has not taken the step forward we all hoped for and is already in his age-28 season.

A trade involving deGrom (already in his age-29 season) coming off his most recent stretch where he’s looked like the deGrominator we all know and love would be maximizing your return on a commodity while his value is still high. Factoring in the 3 years of control and there’s no reason to think that the return shouldn’t be similar to what the White Sox got before the season by dealing Chris Sale.

There’s nothing lost by answering the phone and seeing what other clubs are willing to give up. You don’t have to trade deGrom, but if a team like the Astros is willing to part with a wheelbarrow of talent, you’d be a fool not to cash in. The Mets are in a difficult position going forward with their roster and are thin in the minor leagues once you get past Amed Rosario and Domonic Smith. The infusion of talent that a deGrom could bring back would blow away what any of their other trade candidates would and get the ball rolling on the latest edition of the Mets rebuilding game which looks to have arrived a helluva lot sooner than we thought it would.